criminology essay

A Governments Approach To Tackle The Menace Criminology Essay

Published: 23, March 2015

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The government has shown firmness as far as dealing with the various means of terror are concerned. On the other hand, the socio-economic character of the movement desired a parallel step to eradicate the backwardness of the affected areas.

Based on this very philosophy, the two pronged strategy of effective police response and socio-economic development has emerged [2] .

The Effective Police Response

The primary responsibility for tackling the naxalite situation has rested with the State Governments as it has till date been considered a law and order problem, a state responsibility. Today, however, the recent surge in naxal violence and their international linkages has established beyond doubt that it is no longer a mere law and order problem. The naxalites have now transformed themselves into a modern guerrilla force equipped with sophisticated weapons and communication systems forcing the government to rethink their approach. Their attacks on state authority especially police have intensified with a more violent profile. They have also targeted women and children which had never been done in the past. These have resulted in the problem being termed as the biggest security threat to the nation and the naxals being termed as terrorists [3] .

Since, 2001, more than 5661 civilians and 2036 security force personel (till 30-07-2012) have been killed by the Maoists in different parts of India. A majority of the civilians killed are tribals, often branded as 'Police informers' before being brutally tortured and killed. In fact, tribals and the economically underprivileged sections have been the biggest victims of the so called 'protracted peoples war' of the CPI (Maoist) against the Indian state [4] .

State

2009

2010

2011

Incidents

Deaths

Incidents

Deaths

Incidents

Deaths

AndhraPradesh

66

18

100

24

54

9

Bihar

232

72

307

97

314

62

Chhattisgarh

529

290

625

343

465

204

Jharkhand

742

208

501

157

517

182

M.P.

1

-

7

1

8

0

Maharashtra

154

93

94

45

109

54

Odisha

266

67

218

79

192

53

U.P.

8

2

6

1

1

0

West Bengal

255

158

350

258

90

41

Other States (4)

5

-

5

0

5

1

Total

2258

908

2213

1005

1755

606

The centre and state governments were forced to formulate a new strategy to deal with the ever increasing menace. The centre has come up with the two pronged strategy which addressed the problem at two levels; first with socio economic development or reforms and second with an effective security response. Though the Centre still maintains that the naxal problem is a state subject it is increasing its involvement at all levels and the situation is monitored by the Prime Minister and Home Minister through the Directorate of Internal Security, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Limitations or Drawbacks of State Police Forces

The state police forces have traditionally been organised, trained and employed in maintenance of law and order, crime investigation and community policing of the civil society. The armed police and IRB were also organised, equipped and trained for augmenting the law and order situation. As such, their employment in handling the naxalite situation has not been able to provide the desired results. This has necessitated a review of the complete police setup in the affected states to overcome their inherent limitations or drawbacks which are listed as under :-

(a) The security forces lacked the physical and mental makeup to handle the situation [5] .

(b) The tactics know how, skills, equipment profile and organisation was not commensurate to that of the adversary they were facing.

(c) The training infrastructure and methodology were also not in tune to the requirements.

(d) The inability of police forces to show their presence in the remote and interior areas of the state has also helped the naxals to establish their stronghold over such areas.

(e) Lack of sufficient and timely intelligence about the naxalites.

(f) There was a lack of a synergized effort between the various state police forces and also with the CPMF, who were working in a water tight compartment within their respective states and areas of responsibility. While on the other hand, the naxals were moving freely and operating in different states.

These limitations resulted in the ineffectiveness of the security response of the state and have forced the centre and state to rethink their strategy and adopt a new approach.

Government Strategy to Deal With the Naxal Situation

The naxal problem is dealt by the 'Directorate of Internal Security' of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Furthermore, a Naxal Division has been created to tackle the problem from both the security and the development angle. The Division was created w.e.f. October 19, 2006 in the Ministry to effectively address the LWE problem in a holistic manner. The Division monitors the LWE situation and counter-measures being taken by the affected States. The Division coordinates the implementation of various development schemes of the Ministries/Departments of Govt. of India in LWE affected States [6] . Some of the major security steps undertaken by the government are as follows [7] :-

(a) Deployment of Central Para Military Forces. Central Police Forces have been deployed to supplement the effort of the state police. 74 battalions of CAPFs and CoBRA teams are currently deployed for assisting the State Police in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal [8] .

(b) Special Commando Battalions. Ten Battalions of Specialized Force trained and equipped for counterinsurgency and jungle-warfare operations, named as Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA) have been raised as a part of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) during the period from 2008-09 to 2010-11. These CoBRA Bns. have been deployed in the LWE affected States [9] .

(c) Raising of Indian Reserve Battalion. The central government is implementing the raising of Indian Reserve Battalions (IRB) in the states with the assistance from centre. The Left Wing Extremism affected States have been sanctioned India Reserve (IR) battalions to strengthen the security apparatus of the State. 37 India Reserve (IR) battalions were sanctioned to 9 naxal affected States, of which 34 have been raised. The IR Battalion which have not been raised, one each in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra has been converted into Specialized India Reserve Battalion (SIRB). Besides, Government has approved raising of 10 new SIRBs in the LWE States of Bihar (2), Chattisgarh (2), Jharkhand (1), Madhya Pradesh (1), Odisha (3) and West Bengal (1) to be raised during 2011-12 to 2013-14 [10] .

(d) Establishment of Training Infrastructure. During the 11th Plan period, a scheme was approved to set up 20 Counter Insurgency and Anti Terrorist (CIAT) schools in LWE affected States, 04 each in the States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Assam. In these Schools police personnel will be trained for combating terrorism/ naxalism. The Ministry of Home Affairs is providing an amount of R1.5 crore to each school for development of temporary infrastructure, the Ministry is also bearing recurring expenditure towards honorarium to be paid to the trainers; and would also provide administrative support for running the CIAT Schools and necessary training equipments like weapons, ammunition, supporting manpower, etc. The present positions on number of CIAT Schools sanctioned to the states are as below [11] :-

Name of the State

Original Allocation

Revised Allocation

Assam

4

3

Bihar

4

3

Chhattisgarh

4

4

Jharkhand

4

4

Odisha

4

3

West Bengal

-

1

Manipur

-

1

Tripura

-

1

Nagaland

-

1

Total

20

21

((e) Security Related Expenditure Scheme. Under the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme, assistance is provided for recurring expenditure relating to insurance, training and operational needs of security forces, as also for Left Wing Extremist cadres who surrender in accordance with the surrender and rehabilitation policy of the concerned State Government, community policing, security related infrastructure by village defence committees and publicity material. Rs 315.17 crore was released during 2010-11 under the scheme. A budget estimate of Rs 250 crore is provisioned in 2011-12 under the scheme.Under the scheme, the expenditure incurred by the state government on any of the eight following items is reimbursed to the state [12] :-

(i) Ex gratia payment to security personnel and civilians killed by naxals and also the premium for insurgence of police personnel's.

(ii) Transportation, communication and other logistic support for CPMFs deployment in anti naxal operations.

(iii) Ammunition.

(iv) Training of state police personnel.

(v) Expenditures on elements of community policing, village defence communities, honoraria to Special Police Officers and so on.

(vi) Rehabilitation of surrendered naxals.

(vii) Need based hiring of weapons, vehicles and communication equipment.

(viii) Recurring expenditures on strengthening of police stations check posts and out posts.

(ix) Publicity materials.

(f) Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF). Under the scheme for modernisation of State Police Forces, assistance for modern equipments, weapons, communication, mobility and training infrastructure in terms of police buildings and housing, forensic science related facilities and other essential infrastructure is being provided to the state. In 2008-09, a total of Rs 501.52 crores was allocated to the nine naxal affected state which including Rs 2 crores each for 32 of the 33 focus districts as 100 percent Central grant for strengthening the police infrastructure [13] . The major items provided under the scheme include the followings [14] :-

(i) Construction of secure police stations.

(ii) Provision of modern weapons.

(iii) Surveillance.

(iv) Communication equipment.

(v) Upgrading training infrastructure.

(vi) Security related equipment.

(g) Establishment of New Police Stations. A major drive would be launched to increase the presence of state in the large swathes of forested areas of naxalite areas. A number of police stations are being established abolished in strategic areas, aimed to extend their jurisdiction into densely Maoist infested areas. The area of jurisdiction of these stations would be limited to 100 square kilometres in heavily infested area to 300 sq kilometres in other areas, where as in the present scenario, it extends to approx 1000 square kilometres in some cases [15] .

(h) Vehicles / Helicopters for Movement. Mine protection vehicles, Casspir and helicopters are being provided to the police forces for movement, reconnaissance, and casualty evacuation and deployment purposes. The Indian Air Force, providing the aerial logistic support to the para military forces in their fight against Maoists, sought permission from the government to open fire in self defence in case their helicopter is attacked as had happened in the past. However the government contemplated giving permission for the same and denied it due to the fear of collateral damage and the Maoists being the local people.

(j) Synergised Operations. Due to the interstate ramifications of naxalite activities, the Centre has advocated the need for interstate coordination and cooperation, both in terms of uniformity in approach and ground level joint police action, so as to deal with the naxalites as per the law established.

(k) Intelligence. Strengthening of the state intelligence setup for enhancing the capabilities of collecting, sharing and using actionable Intelligence.Centre would also facilitate in sharing of intelligence between the states and with itself.

(l) Recruitment.. The vacancies in state police forces are being filled up expeditiously so that the deficiency can be made up and optimum utilization of the available and expected training infrastructure can be made use.

Results of Steps Taken

The government has taken a number of security measures as a response to the threat posed by the Naxalites. However, these measures are in their initial stages and would require some time to yield appropriate results. The Greyhound model of Andhra Pradesh has shown that if stern security measures are taken along with development measures and a strong will, the naxalite problem could be reduced to a great extent, making the situation conducive for implementation of development schemes to bear results.

Socio-Economic Development.

In the last few years various committees, commissions and Group of Ministers have been appointed to have an impartial, fair and holistic view to assess the causes and recommend correct approach to deal with the menace of naxal violence. In May 2006, the Planning Commission selected an expert committee headed by D Bandopadhyay, a retired IAS officer, active in dealing with the Naxalites in West Bengal in the 1970s along with Prakash Singh, former DGP of UP and an expert on Naxal issues, Ajit Doval, former director of Intelligence Bureau, BD Sharma, bureaucrat and activist, Sukhdeo Thorat, UGC chairman and K Balagopal, a human rights lawyer, as its members to study development issues and address the causes of 'Discontent, Unrest and Extremism.' The committee submitted its report in June 2008, which is now available on the Planning Commission's website.

The expert committee did a commendable job in underscoring the social, political, economic and cultural discrimination faced by the SCs/STs across the country as a key factor in drawing large number of discontented people towards the Naxalites [16] . The group compared 20 severely Naxalite-affected districts in five states -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha -- with 20 non-affected districts in the same states to establish a correlation between certain human development indicators and their link to social unrest. On the basis of this, it establishes lack of empowerment of local communities as the main reason for the spread of the Naxal movement. Choosing its words carefully, the report states that "We have two worlds of education, two worlds of health, two worlds of transport and two worlds of housing...''

Annual Report of Home Ministry 2011-2012. The Annual Report of Home Ministry states that Government has been following a holistic approach to deal with naxalite activities, aimed at giving attention in the areas of security, development, administration and public perception management. The ministry has accepted that for dealing effectively with the naxal problem, an entirely police and security oriented approach is not enough. While it is necessary to conduct proactive and sustained operations against the extremists and put in place all measures required for this, it is also necessary to simultaneously give focused attention to development and governance issues, particularly at the cutting edge level. Towards this end, there is need to develop short term programmes, involving activities such as holding health camps, effective implementation of the Public Distribution System, provision of drinking water facilities and other basic needs, as well as medium and long term measures for overall development of the area as per a time bound action programme. In this context,

the large amount of funds available to the States under various Central Schemes like the Backward Districts Initiative, Backward Regions Grant Fund, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Prime Minister's Gram Sadak Yojna, the National Rural Health Mission Scheme and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and so on, acquire special significance and can go a long way in alleviating the situation and circumstances which the naxalites attempt to exploit.

In order to ensure accelerated socio-eco development to increase the satisfaction level of masses in the affected areas the following measures have been identified:-

(a) Land reforms, Land Acquisition Policy and Panchayat Raj Institution.

(b) National Policy on Tribals [17] . For the first time since independece, the Government is proposing the formulation of a National Policy on Scheduled Tribes which seeks to bring Scheduled Tribes into the mainstream of society through a multi-pronged approach for their all-round development without disturbing their distinct culture.Â The following are the aims of the National Policy on Tribals:-

Â (i)Â Â Â Â Â To facilitate tribal's social empowerment.

Â (ii)Â Â Â Â Â To facilitate educational development of tribal's.

Â (iii)Â Â Â Â Â To facilitate tribal's economic empowerment.

Â (iv)Â Â Â Â Â To facilitate development of political leadership and participation in governance.

(c) Improving the Governance. The importance assigned to good governance is evident from the fact that an Action Plan focusing on effective and responsible administration enumerating various measures to be taken at Central and State levels was formulated by the Central government, discussed in the conference of Chief Ministers held way back on 24th May, 1997 and adopted therein. This incorporated all the measures to provide good governance especially to the far flung areas. Subsequently, the follow up action in pursuance of this Action plan was deliberated in the 9th meeting of Interstate council on June 28, 2005. The implementation of Panchayati Raj in its very spirit and close coordination between centre and state will surely improve the governance.

(d) Setting up of better delivery system for people centric/people driven programme in affected areas.

(e) The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. This Act seeks to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers, who have been residing in such forests for generations, but whose rights could not be recorded, and to provide for a framework for recording the forest rights so vested and the nature of evidence required for such recognition and vesting in respect of forest land [18] . The State Governments have been asked to give special attention to the proper implementation of the scheme, particularly in the areas affected by the naxalite activities.

(f) Allocation of funds and proper utilization of funds for correct implementation of various schemes:-

(i) Bharat Nirman. The government has identified following tasks [19] :-

(ab) Roads. Provide road connections to remaining 23,000 villages approximately with population of 1000 or 500 in case of hilly or tribal areas.

(ac) Water Supply. Cover approximately 55 thousand uncovered habitations and provide safe drinking water to approximately 2.16 lakh villages affected by poor water quality. In addition, all habitations which have slipped back from full coverage to partial coverage due to failure of source and habitations which have water quality problems to be addressed.

(ae) Housing. Provide additional 1.2 crore houses at the rate of 24 lakh houses each year to be built by funds allocated to the homeless through Panchayats.

(ii) National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP). The programme was originally being implemented in 200 districts and was extended to 330 districts in April 2007. It is now being extended to all districts in the country. The basic objective of the Act is to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work [20] . This work guarantee can also serve other objectives; generating productive assets, protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural urban migration and fostering social equity, among others. It will certainly bring about the socio-economic development in the naxal affected areas and an impetus to bring naxals into the mainstream.

(iii) RSVY (Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojna) and BDI. The Backward Districts Initiative (BDI) under the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojna has been initiated with the main objective of putting in place programmes and policies with the joint effort of the Centre and the States which would remove barriers to growth accelerate the development process and improve the quality of life of the people. The scheme aims at focused development programmes for backward areas which would help reduce imbalances and speed up development. The Programme has two components namely, a district component covering 250 districts and Special plans for Bihar and the KBK districts of Odisha.

(iv) BRGF. The Backward Regions Grant Fund is designed to redress regional imbalances in development. The fund will provide financial resources for supplementing and converging existing developmental inflows into 272 identified districts [21] , so as to:-

(aa) Bridge critical gaps in local infrastructure and other development requirements that are not being adequately met through existing inflows.

(ab) Strengthen to this end Panchayat and Municipality level governance with more appropriate capacity building, to facilitate participatory planning, decision making, implementation and monitoring, to reflect local felt needs,

(ac) Provide professional support to local bodies for planning, implementation and monitoring their plans

(ad) The existing Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojana (RSVY) has been subsumed into the BRGF Programme.Â The erstwhile districts under RSVY will receive their full allocation of Rupees. 45 crore per district as per norms of RSVY.Â Thereafter, they will shift to the BRGF mode of funding.

(ae) An amount of Rs 5350 crore has been released under the BRGF programme during the Financial YearÂ 2012-13.

(v) PMGSY. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) offers

enormous opportunity for rural road connectivity. For certain naxal affected areas, it has been determined that three-year perspective plans, with priorities laid down by the District Collectors- cum-Magistrates, would be prepared for covering all eligible habitations under PMGSY. The State Governments have been requested to identify and prioritize unconnected habitations having population of 500 and above in plains areas and 250 and above in tribal areas for preparing detailed project reports as per PMGSY programme guidelines.

(g) Surrender and Rehabilitation Scheme for Naxals and fund Allocation [22] . The Guidelines for surrender-cum rehabilitation of Left Wing Extremists has been put in place. The rehabilitation package, inter alia, includes a stipend of Rs 2,000 for three years, vocational training, immediate grant of Rs 1.5 lakh and incentives for surrender of weapons.

(h) Civic Action Programme [23] . Under this scheme financial grants are sanctioned to Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to undertake Civic Action Programme in the LWE affected States. This is a successful scheme which aims to build bridges between the local population and security forces. During the Financial year 2011-12 an amount of Rs 20 crore has been provided under Civic Action Programme, out of which Rs 14.20 crore has been released to CAPFs so far.

The Assured Implementation

The central government has accorded a very high priority to review and monitor the naxal situations and the measures taken by states on both security and development front to control it.

The schemes alone cannot give the desired results unless it has been monitored, implemented and validated correctly. Few of the monitoring mechanism have been set up at centre and state level are:-

(e) Setting of various other committees such as the committee headed by retired IAS officer from Bengal Cadre, Mr B Bandhopadhyay.

(f) Empowered Group of Ministers.

(g) Committee of Planning Commission.

Desired End State

The desired end state is to establish law and order and ensure development of the backward areas infested by Maoist philosophy. The constituents of the desired end state are appreciated below:-

(a) Force naxal cadre to shed weapons and surrender.

(b) Rehabilitation of surrendered cadres and joining the democratic main stream.

(c) Alienation of naxals from their support base.

(d) Reinstate law and order .

(e) Violence free good governance.

(f) Development in rural sector and creating genuine infrastructure.

(g) Empowering of local bodies.

(h) Reinstating faith among the people of affected areas in political process and democracy.

Though these socio-economic measures have taken shape in 2006 and it would be premature to comment on the potential of various schemes to eradicate the menace of Naxalism; however, certain ground realities pertaining to various projects are as under:-

(a) Effective Implementation of Land Reforms. Enabling laws pertaining to Land Reform Act already exist in most of the states however; they remain by and large unimplemented. This is a step that requires the commitment of political elite, which itself often tends to represent the anti reform landed interest.

(b) Tribal and Forest Related Issues. Despite various legislations the atrocities against the SC/ST keeps frequently occurring. Corruption, vote bank politics and the exploitation of the SC/ST have played havoc with the socio-eco fabric of society. The SC/ST Commission has consistently been treated with total contempt by everybody, including Parliament which has seldom found time to debate its report if and when presented.

(c) Fund Management. Large amount of development funds are going into these areas mostly tribal areas where the effective delivery mechanism is not in place, coupled with corruption the funds are being siphoned. There are ample examples of emerging of contractor-Naxal nexus, increasing the source of funding. As per the recent studies 10-15% of the funds is going to the naxalites.

(d) Implementation of PESA. The extreme example of states doing their own things is the area of the Provision of the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Area) Act or PESA Act, which was enacted on 24 Dec 1996. It is applicable to nine states which have areas under the Fifth Schedule of Constitution, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujrat, HP, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. Except Jharkhand none of the states have enacted state legislation to give effectiveness to the provision of Act.

(e) Strengthening Administration Machinery and Delivery Mechanism. In the backward districts infested with naxal dominance the district administration is the key delivery mechanism and without its active and enthusiastic involvement nothing much happens at grassroots level. Presently the officers are generally unwilling to be posted in LWE affected areas. There is no reward or recognition for those posted in such areas. Those posted are perceived to be 'dumped' and they try hard to get out as soon as possible. Large numbers of posts sanctioned in important field dept like health, education and police remain vacant.

(f) Encouraging Local Resistance Groups. The local resistance groups such as Ranvir Sena and Sunlight Force in Bihar and Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh have been associated with controversies. These resistance groups are termed as the tools for political and personal gains.

(g) Peace Talks. The different states adopting different policies in terms of ceasefire, negotiations and peace talks have been detrimental for other states. The lack of unified stand/policy does not seem to be fruitful.

(h) Naxal Violence. Since the inception of the Two Pronged Strategy the Naxal violence has not been contained, but is on steady rise barring few states such as Kerala and MP.

CHAPTER - V

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE TWO PRONGED STRATEGY

Gen

In addition the various initiatives presently being undertaken by the Government and the naxal affected States, it might be useful to consider a few more actions that could be initiated to directly and successfully deal with the Naxal challenge.

Socio Economic Development

The naxalite problem in spite of all its ramifications remains a socio political problem. Hence there is a need to tackle basic issues to alleviate the problems like poverty, unemployment and rise of social index. There is a greater challenge namely to bridge the two India's and reduce the gap between haves and have not's.

There is a major concentration of tribal population in the naxal affected areas of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The government should allocate funds to alleviate the tribal populace and ensure they retain freedom of culture and forest dwelling rights and get maximum opportunities to get higher education and raise their social index by improving employment avenues.

Bharat Nirman. The government has defined and identified tasks and there is a need for a core agency at the centre namely the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to oversee the development and ensure that the monetary assistance reaches the masses.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP). The programme is now being extended to all districts in the country. The basic objective of the act is to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment. It will certainly bring about the socio-eco development in the naxal affected areas and an impetus to bring naxals into the mainstream. Hence the programme is a step in the right direction and need to be vigorously followed and all effort should be made to make it a resounding success.

RSVY (Rashtriya Sarva Vikas Yojna) and BDI. The Backward Districts Initiative(BDI) under the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojna been initiated with the main objective of putting in place programme and policies with the joint effort of the Centre and the States which would remove barriers to growth, accelerate the development process and improve the quality of life of the people. The scheme aims at focused development programmes for backward areas which would help reduce imbalances and speed up development.

BRGF. The Backward Regions Grant Fund is designed to redress regional imbalances in development. The government should ensure that the fund should reach the needy and deserving.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). This scheme offers enormous opportunity for rural road connectivity. For certain naxalite affected areas, it has been decided that three-year perspective plans, with priorities laid down by the District Collectors - cum - Magistrates, should be preparation for covering all eligible habitations under PMGSY. The State Governments should identify and prioritize unconnected habitations and ensure that the roads to tribal populated areas which are maximum affected by naxal violence should be constructed on a higher priority. Construction of roads will not only bring succour to the masses but also bring effective and timely police response.

Surrender and Rehabilitation Scheme for Naxals and Fund Allocation. Jharkhand Government has come out with a unique and attractive surrender and rehabilitation policy for the Naxalites in its bid to encourage the Maoists to join the mainstream. The Government has decided to pay Rupees 2.5 lakh to every Naxalite who surrenders himself to police. However, the Government should ensure that this scheme is not misused and surrendered naxalites should get an honest chance to be back into the main stream.

The Effective Police Response

The primary responsibility for tackling the naxalite situation has been rested with the State Governments as it has till date been considered a law and order problem. However, the Central Government should be the core agency for bringing cooperation and coordination in interstate police operations. The biggest challenge is to make the police force a potent tool to mitigate the naxal threat. The recommendations are:-

(a) Modernisation of Police Forces(MPF). Under the scheme for modernisation of State Police Forces, assistance for modern equipment, weapons, communication, mobility and training infrastructure in terms of police buildings and housing, forensic science related facilities and other essential infrastructure are to be provided with definite fund allocation and defined timelines.

(b) Synergised Operations. Due to the interstate ramifications of naxalite activities there is a need for interstate coordination and cooperation, both in terms of uniformity in approach and ground level joint police action so as to deal with the naxalites as per the law establish. Centre Government need to take firm steps and mitigate any interstate turf wars.

(c) Intelligence. Strengthening of the state intelligence setup for enhancing capabilities of collecting, sharing and using actionable intelligence. It is recommended that there should be a naxalite cell under the NSA with state level responsibilities for sharing of intelligence to facilitate better execution of operations at interstate level.

(d) Sensitisation and training of all ranks of the police force across the entire naxal affected state on activities of Naxalites.

(e) Posting young and enthusiastic S.H.Os in affected regions.

(f) Diligently and deliberately adopt an people-centric policing and vigorously participate in community development actions.

(g) Victim reassurance.

Miscellaneous

Some other steps which will assist in the success of the policy are as follows.

(a) Close Coordination Between Centre, State and Interstate. The Centre should be solely responsible for achieving close coordination among all arms of the state government and central government i.e. police force and intelligence gathering machinery. The fund allocation by the Centre to the states should be clearly defined. The mechanism for timely expenditure and completion of the task defined should wrest with the centre.

(b) Ensuring No External Nexus Exist to support Naxals. Recent media reports suggest that these Left-wing extremists have indicated that they have established contacts with terror groups like ULFA for procurement of arms. The government had recently declared it a terrorist organization. The Maoists are fighting the Indian security forces with sophisticated weapons, such as like Light Machine Guns (LMGs), AK-47s, Self Loading Rifles (SLRs), mortars, grenades, land and claymore mines. Presence of such wherewithal with naxalite groups proves that there is a nexus between naxalite and extremist groups. There is a need for concerted drive by intelligence and security agencies to mitigate any such support.

(c) Psychological Operations. Mass Media should be used as a force multiplier. The tribal affected areas should be targeted with psychological operations themes for perception management of tribal populace. Vernacular media should be adequately exploited for the same.

(d) Political Parties. Mao Tse Tung once said: "If we attend to these problems, solve them and satisfy the needs of the masses, we shall really become organizers of the well-being of the masses, and they will truly rally round us and give us their warm supportâ€¦ The women want to learn ploughing and harrowing. Whom can we get to teach them? The children want to go to school. Have we set up primary schools? The wooden bridge over there is too narrow and people may fall off. Should we not repair it? Many people suffer from boils and other ailments. What are we going to do about it? All such problems concerning the well-being of the masses should be placed on our agenda. Discussions should be held, decisions reached, actions taken and results checked up." Political parties being the largest organized group with a presence in every village, can play a important role in being receptive to people's needs and troubles. Moreover, the political parties have a direct stake in the democratic system. Therefore, setting-aside political rivalries the government should advise and encourage all political parties to play a pro-active role and be responsive to people's problems. This shall strengthen the support base of each of the political party and, additionally, deny political space to the Naxalites.

(e) Corporate Social Responsibility. In the Naxalite-affected areas, industries, especially paper and mining industry, belonging to both the public and private sectors, has been under constant threat of a ttacks and destruction -- leading to loss of lives and property - from the Naxalites. At the same time, in order to win over the people and wean them away from the Naxalites the industry could meaningfully and sincerely fulfil its corporate social responsibility (CSR). The government should closely work with the industry and help them devise schemes and programmes. It would be most prudent to commence CSR activities the day an industry signs a MoU with the government, rather than wait for a later date when production would commence, or profits start pouring-in. The money to be spent on CSR could be included in the project cost itself. Some of the CSR activities that could be undertaken include:-

Free educational facilities for local adivasi children in the project schools.

Construction of new school buildings and additional class rooms, besides undertaking repair and renovation of a number of school buildings of the state government in the area, including electrification work.

Supply of school uniforms, text books and other stationery items to adivasi children, besides suitable cash awards to meritorious students of various classes to inculcate the positive attitude towards education.

Establish ITI/ Polytechnic College exclusively for tribal youth providing entire infrastructure facilities, including residential quarters and hostel buildings for students, to develop local talent suiting to the needs of the industry.

Undertake "Skill Development Programme", which includes inhouse

training, aimed at equipping tribal youth to acquire necessary knowledge, skill and proficiency in the operation of Mine/Plant to help them in seeking employment. Pay appropriate stipend during the period of programme and offer free/subsidised breakfast, lunch, uniform, tool kits, etc.

Free medical treatment in project hospitals and frequent camps for eye, dental, cancer, orthopaedic, family planning and other health camps.

Frequent visits of project doctors to neighbouring villages for providing medical assistance to the needy and help the District Administration in extending medical assistance through making available ambulances, donation of medical equipment, etc in interior villages.

CONCLUSION

"I am confident that we will contain the spread of the naxalite movement and gradually isolate and eliminate it".

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at the Chief Ministers' Meet in New Delhi.

The paper highlights that the phenomenal speed with which Naxalism is growing has indeed serious implications on our internal security and needs to be addressed at priority. The movement which basically started as a peasant movement and gained recognition in 1967 has now degenerated into a serious threat. The ideology at the inception doesn't seem to be followed by all the groups in the fray now. For some this movement is an escape from abject poverty of the region and for some it has become a tool to wield power and authority. Most importantly, now few of its proponents are also anti democracy and equate socialism with communism.

There are number of naxal groups who have joined the battle against the government and are carrying out synergized military action through armed squads to fulfill their strategy towards a mass movement. This protracted war and building up secured bases basically in Dandakaranya and Abujmadh regions have given a boost to their actions against their class enemies and security forces. The aim of CRZ will have a long lasting effect as brought out in the paper and may drive a wedge between the entire length of the country if fulfilled. Militarization, violence and retribution are on the rise. Although the number of violence related incidents have decreased, the casualties have increased, suggesting an increased sophistication in the attack profile of the Naxalites. The merger of CPML-PW and MCCI into CPI (M) has further given boost to the organisations not only in financial concern but also in magnitude of clandestine

activities. The spatial spread to 231 districts of 20 states along with all of the above, indicate that Naxalism has aquired dangerous proportions. As per corroborated and uncorroborated reports this situation is being further exploited by external divisive forces to cause unrest in the country.

A thorough analysis of the problem reveals that the problem which is basically socio-economic has taken shape of a security threat due to inadequate attention paid towards it by both central and state government. The root cause hence surfaces to be the inability of the states to address the many genuine grievances of the people. The increasing gap between the populist rhetoric of the politicians, their false promises and the actual fulfillment has resulted in the younger generation no longer willing to put up passively with injustice and humiliation.

The government has suddenly become aware of the size of the menace and to reduce further flare up has initiated a very prudent two pronged strategy to address the crisis at both socio-economic and security fronts. The security scenario is being dealt with ruthlessly by the police and central paramilitary forces. The initiative to raise India Reserve battalions as anti-naxal force is likely to pay rich dividends if the overall aim is not lost sight of.

Involvement of armed force at this juncture will to an extent bring the security state under control, but would not root out the problem as such. Hence it is necessary that although grim, the situation should be preferably controlled by the civil administration both at social and security fronts, especially at this juncture when the government's efforts have started bearing fruits. The involvement of military has certain other adverse affects to go with it, most importantly weaning away the major chunk of the force from its conventional role, especially in view of political instability in Pakistan and rising Chinese power. The continued troop deployment in insurgency after a stage becomes counterproductive as it seriously impinges upon the training and operational preparedness of the armed forces for conventional operations. The involvement of military in fighting terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir and insurgency in Northeastern India since last so many years prove that military cannot solve the problem, it may some times serve just as a catalyst, but that too within the political will.

The Government must continue to remain firmly committed and determined to address the exploitation, artificially depressed wages, unjust socio-political circumstances, inadequate employment opportunities, lack of access to resources, under-developed agriculture, geographical segregation and lack of land reforms to solve the naxal problem. The exceptional speed with which naxalism is growing has serious implications for our national security concerns and needs to be addressed at priority. We as members of the armed forces of the country, must keep ourselves aware of the ground situation on a regular basis and keep ourselves ready for the eventuality of being pitch forked into the vortex of this simmering cauldron of LWE, for us to perform our assigned task creditably.

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